Keating will speak at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 3600 Devine St., Columbia. His topic will be "Centering Prayer as a Preparation for Contemplative Prayer." The lecture is free and open to the public.

"Workshop on Centering Prayer" will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 13 at St. Joseph’s. Registration is $25 ($10 for students) and includes lunch.

Keating is one of the architects of the Centering Prayer movement and of Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., now an international, ecumenical organization that teaches Centering Prayer and the Christian contemplative tradition and provides a support system for those on the contemplative path.

A member of the Cistercian Order, Keating helped to found the Snomass Interreligious Conference in 1982, and is active in interreligious dialogue. He is the author of a number of books, as well as video and audiotape series. His books include Open Mind, Open Heart, Intimacy with God, Invitation to Love, and The Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit.

A Columbia native, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin left a profound legacy of service, social concern, and education. In his work as priest, archbishop of Chicago, author, and public servant, he addressed the most profound social and ethical issues of our times. In honor of Bernardin, a former student of the University and a distinguished leader in the Roman Catholic Church, USC established the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Chair in Ethical, Moral, and Religious Studies. The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Lectures were inaugurated in 1999 and are held annually by the USC Department of Religious Studies.

For more information, call Hal French, committee chair, at 7-2178.

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